Bar boss on night out hit by lorry as he hailed cab

Leven Street

David O’Leary

A BAR manager suffered serious head injuries after he was hit by a lorry as he tried to hail a taxi.

Scott Murray, who runs Bon Vivant in Thistle Street, Stockbridge, was attempting to cross Leven Street in Tollcross after a night out with friends when he was struck in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Scott Murray

The 31-year-old from Canonmills was today being treated in the specialist brain injuries and neuroscience unit at the Western General Hospital, where he underwent surgery last night. It is understood his condition has not deteriorated overnight. He was rushed to Edinburgh Royal Infimary after the collision before being transferred to be treated for suspected blood clots on his brain and behind his eye.

The lorry driver had been detained but was released pending further inquiries. Police have appealed for anyone who witnessed the incident – in which no-one else was hurt – to come forward.

Friends today rallied around Mr Murray and said they had been stunned to learn of his injuries. One friend said: “He’s a great guy who always enjoys a laugh and a joke.

“It’s shocking to think that a night out with mates could end like this.

“I really hope that he pulls through and my thoughts are with his family. All of his friends are shocked by this.”

Officers from Lothian and Borders Police’s Road Policing Unit closed Leven Street for four hours after the incident at 1.20am yesterday while investigations took place at the scene.

It comes just weeks after a 21-year-old man was left with “life-changing injuries” after being struck in an alleged hit-and-run on Kirk Brae.

The male victim sustained spinal injuries in the collision which happened after he got out of a taxi in the early hours of the morning.

A 36-year-old man has been charged in connection with that incident.

Recent figures, released by Lothian and Borders Police, show that a total of nine adults were killed on the roads in the Lothians between April and September, while 165 sustained serious injuries, 97 of them in Edinburgh.

Another 1048 adults suffered minor injuries over the period. Of these, 590 of the injuries occurred in the city.

A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: “The man suffered serious head injuries as a result of this collision, and we want anyone who witnessed the collision, which happened close to the Blackbird Inn, to contact police immediately.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “We received a call to say a male had been knocked down by a lorry. We arrived on the scene to find a male with serious head injuries and he was taken by ambulance to accident and emergency.”

Anyone with any information can contact Lothian and Borders Police on 0131-311 3131, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.